Monthly Archives: January 2013

Tomorrow marks a milestone for both myself and Molly. It’s her first day of preschool, and although I’m going with her for her first session, it marks the beginning of independence. I’ve been fortunate enough to have balanced motherhood with work, and work from home when she naps. So she’s never been to nursery, and therefore I’ve never left her with anyone other than close family and trusted friends. It’s probably just as big a day for me as her, and although I’ve been subtly talking to her about it for weeks now, not wanting it to be a shock, I’m not too sure how I feel about it yet. I’m hoping we’ll both take it in our stride.

So, along with the failed attempts at name-tagging her clothes, other preparations were to provide a snack for mid-morning. Long gone are the days of having emergency cheesy poofs, as I’m loath to admit that pretty much most week days we frequent a café, and I treat her to something chocolatey. However, when I was checking the preschool out, I noticed that most children seemed to have fruit or other healthy snacks lovingly prepared. Not wanting Molly to miss out on her mid-morning pick-me-up, but also not wanting to provide brownies or the like, thus ensuing jealousy, thieving or disapproving looks from key-workers, I thought I’d create some peanut butter biscuits, which could be mistaken for health food, or at least aren’t eye-catchingly chocolate coloured.

These were based on a Paul Rankin recipe, but I used dark soft sugar for a more caramel taste, and I also added vanilla to compliment the peanut butter. These biscuits are soft, buttery and melt in the mouth, and luckily were not disapproved of by the beneficiary.

Makes 16

8 tbsp plain flour

2 tbsp soft brown sugar

2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

1 egg yolk

50g soft butter

½ tspn vanilla essence

Icing sugar for dusting

To Make

Preheat the oven to 180c.

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients, bar the icing sugar. Then using your hands, bring together on a board (no need to flour), and divide in half, then keep rolling and dividing until you have 16 balls.

Place on a baking tray on baking paper (no need to grease), and with a fork, press down to leave a flattened indent.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool, and dust with icing sugar. They’ll keep in an airtight container for a week, but best eaten fresh.